Indian wedding guest list cut calculator
How many guests to cut to fit your venue, and which tiers still fit. No sign-up.
Prefilled with an example for Anaya & Rohan (a 300-seat reception). Change any number.
Your list and your venue
Split by tier
Optional. Closest firstC includes your parents' friends. Everyone left over (plus-ones, kids, colleagues) is counted last.
How the calculator works
Step 1: Enter your list and cap
Everyone on the list today, and the seats at your tightest event.
Step 2: Add tiers if you have them
Must-invite family, close friends and extended family. Everyone else is counted last.
Step 3: Read the cut
How many guests to cut, and which tiers fit under the cap. Then tag guests by tier in PlanMe.
The number, rounded to whole guests:
guests to cut = guests on your list − venue cap
With tiers, the seats fill in order: A, then B, then C, then everyone else.
A different guest list for each event
In PlanMe, each function is called a festivity. Tag guests by tier, then invite each tier only to the festivities it fits, so the mehndi, sangeet and reception can each have their own list. Guests see only the festivities they are invited to.
How to cut an Indian wedding guest list
Most guest list advice is written for one event with one headcount. An Indian wedding is usually several events, and the cap that forces a cut is often just one of them: a reception hall, or a home mehndi with room for a fraction of the list. Find that event first and count only the guests invited to it.
Then agree on tiers with both families before anyone looks at names. Tier A is family you would not marry without, B is close friends, C is extended family and your parents' friends, and everyone else is plus-ones, kids and colleagues. Your own tiers may differ; what matters is that they are decided once. The calculator fills the seats in that order and shows where the line falls.
The tier that doesn't fit is not always a tier you drop. On a multi-day wedding you can invite it to the events with more room, such as the ceremony, and keep the smaller ones for closer family. In the Anaya & Rohan example, 380 names meet a 300-seat reception hall: tiers A and B fit, 90 of the 110 tier C guests fit, and the 60 plus-ones, kids and colleagues are the first place to look for the 80 cuts. How tiers map to each event is covered in the Indian wedding guest list template.
Related
Guest list cut questions
How do I cut my Indian wedding guest list?
Start from the event with the tightest venue, usually the reception or sangeet. Sort everyone into tiers, from must-invite family down to colleagues and plus-ones, and fill the seats in that order. Whatever tier no longer fits is where the cut happens. On a multi-day wedding you often don't have to drop those guests entirely: invite them to the events with room, such as the ceremony, instead of the one with the smallest hall.
How does the calculator work?
Guests to cut = guests on your list − venue cap. If you add tiers, the seats are filled in order: tier A, then B, then C, then everyone else. For Anaya & Rohan, 380 names and a 300-seat reception hall means 80 to cut. Tiers A (120) and B (90) fit, tier C fits 90 of 110, and the 60 plus-ones, kids and colleagues don't fit.
How do I cut a wedding guest list without upsetting family?
Agree on the rules before anyone looks at names: the cap, the tiers, and blanket rules such as no plus-ones for guests who aren't in a relationship, or no colleagues at the smaller events. Then let each person trim the names they added, so no one is cutting someone else's relatives. Our Indian wedding guest list template has an Added by column for exactly this.
Which event should I use for the venue cap?
Use the event where the invited count is closest to, or over, the room's capacity. That is often the reception, but a small mehndi venue can be the real limit. If more than one event is tight, run the calculator once for each, with the guests invited to that event.
Should I count on some guests declining?
Be careful. Not everyone you invite will come, but a venue cap is a hard limit, and if more people say yes than you planned for, there is no easy fix. Cut to the cap first. To see roughly how many invited guests may attend each event, use the Indian wedding guest attendance calculator.
Is the calculator free, and is my data saved?
Yes, it is free and needs no sign-up. It runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Your last numbers are kept on this device only.